“We grow the most when things are hard.” That’s what I wrote on the card when we first designed this Strap back in mid 2019. Strangely enough - of nearly every card I’ve written, those words are some of the most relevant I can think of for nearly any situation.
Merriam-Webster defines Endurance as the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. That means in order to know endurance, you’ve become very familiar with pain.
There are a lot of you here in this community who have shared your journey with me - who are living examples, in my mind, of what endurance looks like. The fact that you have been through some of the most difficult times I can imagine, yet are still here smiling means you’ve discovered something most people miss: The value of the hard times we face is in the growth that comes after - the person we become when we prove to ourselves that we can make it through anything.
Some pains we go through aren’t physical at all - they’re the loss of a loved one, a pet, a relationship or a job. Maybe it’s being teased, looked down on, ignored or under-appreciated.
Whatever the adversity, my hope is that you’ll wear this ZOX as your reminder that you’re stronger than you realize - you can make it through anything and come out better than you started, if only you have the courage to keep going.
